Robbie Amell Talks THE FLASH, Firestorm’s Origin, Ronnie Raymond’s Other Half, and More

The CW’s The Flash is so hot right now. Lending his smoldering good looks to go along with his character’s pyro powers is Robbie Amell, who stars as Ronnie Raymond/Firestorm. While his cousin Stephen leads the network’s Arrow, you can expect to see a lot more of Robbie in the coming weeks. As he reveals in this interview, new episodes of The Flash will feature Firestorm’s origin story, further complications in the relationship between Ronnie Raymond and Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker), and just what Victor Garber’s character Dr. Martin Stein has to do with the nuclear-powered superhero. Check out what Amell told our reporter Sheila Roberts’ about The Flash below and look for our full interview about The Duff soon.

What’s it been like being part of The Flash?

ROBBIE AMELL: Oh, it’s great. I had a show on the CW called The Tomorrow People which was so much fun to shoot. It’s the same executive producer, Greg Berlanti, who offered me the role of Firestorm. Of course, I said yes because I get to play a superhero. I flew back up to Vancouver. I found out while I was shooting Max. I wrapped Max, went to Toronto to see family, and then flew to Vancouver. It was great. About 80 percent of the crew was from The Tomorrow People so it was like going back for a second season. They’ve given me such cool stuff to do with the fire on my hands and shooting stuff out of my hands and flying. It’s just every kid’s dream. And I get to work with Victor Garber. That’s as cool as it gets.

The show has quickly become a fan favorite which is very rare for a season 1 show. When did you first realize the show was so popular?

AMELL: My cousin (Stephen Amell) is Arrow so I’ve seen the unbelievable ride he’s gone on and the amount of fan base that they’ve built. When they did The Flash crossover episode — not this season on The Flash and Arrow — it kind of acted as the first episode of The Flash or the first time that they introduced Flash. You could see that there was going to be something really special there. Grant (Gustin) is so great and the cast they put together is so unbelievable. And The Flash is just such an iconic character. I feel like they’ve really done it right. The visual effects are incredible. They’re pulling all the stops on this. I’m just really excited for all of them. It kind of is what I expected it to be. I expected it to be this big. I would have been a lot more surprised if it wasn’t this big.

What can you tease people about Firestorm and Ronnie Raymond in future episodes?

AMELL: Well, you’ll see in February, I’ve got a couple episodes coming up. You’re going to see my character and you’re going to be introduced to Victor Garber’s character, the other half of Firestorm. Things are not going to be easy. The last time you saw me, I flew away and told Danielle’s (Panabaker) character not to look for me again, and obviously she does if I come back. The relationship there is really difficult. You’ve got two minds inside one body fighting for control. So, it’s going to be dangerous. There are going to be repercussions. But there’s some really cool stuff coming up. It’s tough. I can’t tell you too much. (Laughs)

What were your thoughts on The Flash and Arrow crossover episodes?

AMELL: They were actually the two best episodes of both shows that I have ever seen. I thought that it was the best episode of Flash and the best episode of Arrow. I just thought they were so great. Flash added a little bit of comedy to Arrow and Arrow added a little darker grittiness to Flash. I thought they worked unbelievably well together. I know how hard the cast worked for those episodes because they’re already shooting such incredible hours on each show individually. To go and wrap one show and go shoot the crossover with the other, it was well deserved.

What have the producers told you about future episodes and where your story arc is going?

AMELL: (Laughs) I can’t tell you any of that, but there is some very cool stuff coming up. The next two episodes I’m in, the first one is almost like the origin story of Firestorm. You’ve seen the accident that created it, but this shows you what’s been going on in the time leading up to that and currently inside Ronnie’s head, and hopefully they can figure out what to do about it.

Is it possible there could be a DC spin-off for Firestorm?

AMELL: I don’t know. I mean, they always talk about it. But the tough thing is they’ve already got The Flash. They’ve got Arrow. They’re doing a Super Girl show on CBS. All the people involved are very busy. Who knows?

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